Peace Be Still

Vincent Van Gogh once said, "Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it." You see, Van Gogh was a gifted artist, yet he was a tormented soul governed all too easily by his emotions.

But struggling artists aren't the only ones who allow their lives to be captained by their emotions. Having served in ministry, it's frightening to see how often we "ministers" allow our emotions to overtake the guiding of the Spirit. Think about it...it's certainly uncomfortable to watch a toddler throw a temper tantrum in the grocery store, but it's even more painful to watch a servant of God throw one in their Father's house. Don't get me wrong - I know how tough ministry can be. People insult you, judge you, and even betray you. And when attacked, our natural human instinct tells us to take an aggressive action...to let our emotions run loose. But our spiritual instinct teaches us that no sin from another justifies a sinful response from us.

Proverbs 29:11 (ESV) says, "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."

Maybe you've learned to process the anger, but you're being bombarded by another of the enemy's attack strategies. You look around at your ministry, and you just don't seem to see any results. No one shows up to that Bible study you spent weeks preparing for...a woman you thought was truly growing has an affair...the church tells you there just isn't any money for what you'd been planning. You look around at other ministries, and they seem to be thriving and have support from the church. You go home at the end of the day feeling defeated and unsure of your calling. Sound painfully familiar?

Well, it's one of the enemy's most effective emotional manipulations. If he can convince us to compare our ministry with others, he can breed insecurity, jealousy, and doubt. If he can convince us to measure our spiritual success by a worldly standard comprised of numbers and dollar signs, he can generate fear, frustration, and even despair.

Psalm 139:23 (NLT) says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts."

For those of us in the trenches of ministry, it's critical that we give God the green light to show us the truth behind our thoughts and emotions. Without Him at the helm, it's truly impossible to navigate the often choppy waters of ministry. So I challenge you to step back and give the wheel to the One who is able to quiet your emotional turmoil with three simple words: "Peace, be still."